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Public Tennis Center project begins

The Longboat Key Public Tennis Center’s former office building has been torn down and work has begun on a new 1,750-square-foot pro shop.

The tennis center’s former 280-square-foot office and check-in building at 590 Bay Isles Road was razed last week in preparation for the new facility.

An outline of the new two-story building’s foundation, which includes a pro shop, a viewing deck, new dressing rooms and bathrooms, has already been formed. The site will also include a training court and a revamped parking area with 31 more parking spaces.

Naples-based Boran Craig Barber Engel Construction foreman Steve Ferrari said the project, which will also include a revised parking area, will be complete by the end of November.

The Town Commission approved the project at its March regular workshop after the estimated $732,000 project came in under bid. The total price tag for the project is $584,144.

While the town will fund the project, the intent is to use Sarasota County infrastructure surtax monies to pay back the town for the project.

The courts are available for use by tennis members while construction continues. A makeshift office has been set up in a portable near the courts east of Longboat Library. Members wanting to access the south courts at 590 Bay Isles Road must enter at a makeshift entrance formed at the Longboat Key U.S. Post Office’s parking lot.